Eastern Ma & New England Area Fishing Reports

[Janderson45]

8 hours ago, swamp hawgs said:

i cant wait!!! ill be there! we usually fish the longer walk areas. caught a nice smallie and a laker last opening day. 
im going to switch up tactics this year and search out for the giant bass and lakers!  i have never fished bull rock, only been to the rook once! thats a haul!!!!  i dont know where to go yet. but as we get closer ill have my game plan 

CANT WAIT!!!! I hope it opens on time! im sure it will! 

 

Are you guys talking about fishing it from shore?  Why from shore? Just don't want to deal with renting a boat or know anyone who has a quabbin rig?  I've got quite a few nice honey holes saved on my GPS, but I've never heard of bull rock or the rook.  I'll be interested to see how much the water level is up since last fall.. I hope it recovered nicely but I'm not super optimistic either.

[Deeare]

10 hours ago, swamp hawgs said:

i cant wait!!! ill be there! we usually fish the longer walk areas. caught a nice smallie and a laker last opening day. 
im going to switch up tactics this year and search out for the giant bass and lakers!  i have never fished bull rock, only been to the rook once! thats a haul!!!!  i dont know where to go yet. but as we get closer ill have my game plan 

CANT WAIT!!!! I hope it opens on time! im sure it will! 

I'll probably meet Muskie an hour before sunrise. and do some bait fishing. Then head out to the causeway area and toss kastmasters.   Got a pin rainbow last year on a jerkbait

2 hours ago, Janderson45 said:

 

Are you guys talking about fishing it from shore?  Why from shore? Just don't want to deal with renting a boat or know anyone who has a quabbin rig?  I've got quite a few nice honey holes saved on my GPS, but I've never heard of bull rock or the rook.  I'll be interested to see how much the water level is up since last fall.. I hope it recovered nicely but I'm not super optimistic either.

Only shore fishing at the Wachusett res.   Ive only been out to the quabbin once.   It's a 2 hour drive for me.   If I knew someone with a boat I'd do it much more.  

[Mr. Aquarium]

12 hours ago, Deeare said:

I'll probably meet Muskie an hour before sunrise. and do some bait fishing. Then head out to the causeway area and toss kastmasters.   Got a pin rainbow last year on a jerkbait

Only shore fishing at the Wachusett res.   Ive only been out to the quabbin once.   It's a 2 hour drive for me.   If I knew someone with a boat I'd do it much more.  

you know muskie???? me2, he taught me how to fish that place!  the Q is a haul, 2.5 hour drive for me! 

i never fish the causeway. i fish the main res the most! i love the long walks 

[DogBone_384]

Drove around some local holes while doing errands and kicking tires for a new truck.  Surprisingly, Ponkapog is still locked up !?!?!?!.  Sunset Lake, Houghton's, and Blue Hills Reservoir are open.

 

I'm planning on getting out with Fishing Rhino tomorrow to a yet-to-be-determined location.  

[MassYak85]

Welp, long term forecast says no days above 50 all of next week, with some nights late this week dipping into the single digits. I definitely want to get out at least once or twice during break so I might just tough it out one day. I still have to get my roofracks back on my car. 

[CTBassin860]

Pond by the house is officially iced out! Fished for an hour and a half in the cold an rain with no luck.Its better than sitting in the house though!

[Deeare]

10 hours ago, swamp hawgs said:

you know muskie???? me2, he taught me how to fish that place!  the Q is a haul, 2.5 hour drive for me! 

i never fish the causeway. i fish the main res the most! i love the long walks 

I fished with you out there a few times with team Muskie a couple years back.  I think the day you got a big largemough. I know mark also.   I fished with him out there end of last season and up at the salmon river.   We were talking about tuna fishing last year on facebook.  I love freshwater but I have become obsessed with tuna on light tackle.   

 The causeway is great.   Lakers. Smallies and salmon can be caught there.  

 

[CTBassin860]

6 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

Drove around some local holes while doing errands and kicking tires for a new truck.  Surprisingly, Ponkapog is still locked up !?!?!?!.  Sunset Lake, Houghton's, and Blue Hills Reservoir are open.

 

I'm planning on getting out with Fishing Rhino tomorrow to a yet-to-be-determined location.  

Thats like 30 minutes from me.

On 02/11/2017 at 7:04 PM, MassYak85 said:

Fiiiiiinaaaalllly got out. A few hours at A1 and all we had to show for it was an obese slime dart. I'll take it though, first fish I've caught in months. Ice was about 5-6 inches. Mostly white re-frozen slush from the storm with about a 2 inch base layer of clear stuff. 

How is A-1?? I'd like to check it it.

[MassYak85]

1 hour ago, MassBassin508 said:

Thats like 30 minutes from me.

How is A-1?? I'd like to check it it.

I'm at school in lowell for the week so I haven't checked it. Last weekend I drove by and it was open. With this rain and mild weather I'd say go Thursday if you're able. After that we are getting another cold snap with daytime temps barely above freezing it looks like, I'd imagine it will start to freeze again. The lake I live closest to last weekend (this is 15 minutes from A1) was half frozen. Seems like we're going to be in limbo for a few weeks at least in my area. I'm sure towards the cape there will be plenty of open water to be had. I'll probably launch my kayak next week regardless of the weather I just need to get out. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

13 hours ago, Deeare said:

I fished with you out there a few times with team Muskie a couple years back.  I think the day you got a big largemough. I know mark also.   I fished with him out there end of last season and up at the salmon river.   We were talking about tuna fishing last year on facebook.  I love freshwater but I have become obsessed with tuna on light tackle.   

 The causeway is great.   Lakers. Smallies and salmon can be caught there.  

 

yes!!!  that was my first trip ever.  dude  you catch tuna! OMG THATS AMAZING!!!  ive always wanted to catch one!

[CTBassin860]

12 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

I'm at school in lowell for the week so I haven't checked it. Last weekend I drove by and it was open. With this rain and mild weather I'd say go Thursday if you're able. After that we are getting another cold snap with daytime temps barely above freezing it looks like, I'd imagine it will start to freeze again. The lake I live closest to last weekend (this is 15 minutes from A1) was half frozen. Seems like we're going to be in limbo for a few weeks at least in my area. I'm sure towards the cape there will be plenty of open water to be had. I'll probably launch my kayak next week regardless of the weather I just need to get out. 

A-1 is 25 minutes or so from me

[CTBassin860]

@massyak85 what I meant to ask is how the fishing was.Lots of small bass?Some big girls? Good bank access?

[MassYak85]

25 minutes ago, MassBassin508 said:

@massyak85 what I meant to ask is how the fishing was.Lots of small bass?Some big girls? Good bank access?

Bank Access is very good. There is a trail that goes most of the way around the lake in both directions from the parking lot. Heavily wooded so not a whole lot of access from the trail but there are some spots. There's about a quarter mile dam right next to the parking lot that you can fish from. It's completely covered in grass and not steep. The only downside of fishing form shore there is limited access to deep water so when there's a cold snap and they aren't shallow it can be tough. If you get a warm up though they can move up into that area and you can have some good luck.

 

As far as fish the biggest I've gotten out of there was a 4 1/2 pounder last spring. In fact that was the first fish I caught last year (April 10th). It's one of the more consistent places I fish regularly though. It has produced a lot of numbers days for me, I'd say average fish size is probably around 2 - 3 lbs. I haven't fished it a ton when it's truly cold like in the high 30's low 40's(other than ice fishing). From what I've heard from guys I've talked to that fished it for decades said there used to be absolute pigs in there but not so much anymore. There's still good fish in there though. Last time out in my kayak last year I had something huge knock about 6 feet of slack into my line when fishing a Mattlures Gill. By the time I caught up and set the hook it was too late and whatever it was shot off and left a torpedo like 30 foot wake. Also when fishing in the summer sometimes I'll just paddle around in the lily pads to scare stuff and I've seen some huge swirls from spooked bass. Long story short it's definitely worth fishing. I like going there a lot more than whitehall. 

 

If you plan on going let me know I can give you some more specific tips.

[DogBone_384]

Fishing Rhino and I got down to Devol somewhere around 8:30-9:00.  It was cold, windy, and raining a little. Water temps hovered in the high 30's.

 

After making a lap around the place, Tom bagged a nice LMB, probably in the 1 pound range.  Tom caught it on his 'regular' fish catcher.

 

I threw a couple different colored Shadow Raps, a Mepps spinner, chartreuse/white chatterbait, white/clear Zoom Fluke, a couple square bills (one that's a known good here), and a GY Hula Grub on a 1/8 oz Keitech jig head and couldn't buy a bite.

 

We left around 1:00, but I wasn't going home skunked, so I drove to Hedges, thinking I could repeat my success there.  

 

I started on the nort hshore with a Halloween Shadow Rap deep and a Hula Grub.  Neither produced so I changed to a darker Shadow Rap deep and brown/yellow hair jig.  Struck out here too so out came a Silver Buddy blade bait that's supposed to work so well.  I tried as many different retrieves with both the jig and Buddy that thought would catch something, but to no avail.  

 

I worked the whole perimeter (6-12'), the two humps I found last week, and a chunk of the middle where it's 18-20' deep and got DOUBLE SKUNKED.

 

Water temps were 44.x upon arrival and 43.x at 5:30 when I left.

 

Today seemed to be one of those weather days that kept fish quiet no matter what was thrown at them.

 

 

[Cyacnba]

Stopped by the Charles River today and caught over 10 bass. All of them were fat and healthy. They were going for the chatterbait at first, but then, the jig was the bait to use. I caught 2 on a jerkbait too.

[MassYak85]

2 hours ago, Cyacnba said:

Stopped by the Charles River today and caught over 10 bass. All of them were fat and healthy. They were going for the chatterbait at first, but then, the jig was the bait to use. I caught 2 on a jerkbait too.

Kudos to you man that's awesome! I'm worried my lakes are gonna start to freeze over next week. I might have to try the Charles myself or drive down near the cape to find non-solid water. 

[je1946]

4 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

Fishing Rhino and I got down to Devol somewhere around 8:30-9:00.  It was cold, windy, and raining a little. Water temps hovered in the high 30's.

 

After making a lap around the place, Tom bagged a nice LMB, probably in the 1 pound range.  Tom caught it on his 'regular' fish catcher.

 

I threw a couple different colored Shadow Raps, a Mepps spinner, chartreuse/white chatterbait, white/clear Zoom Fluke, a couple square bills (one that's a known good here), and a GY Hula Grub on a 1/8 oz Keitech jig head and couldn't buy a bite.

 

We left around 1:00, but I wasn't going home skunked, so I drove to Hedges, thinking I could repeat my success there.  

 

I started on the nort hshore with a Halloween Shadow Rap deep and a Hula Grub.  Neither produced so I changed to a darker Shadow Rap deep and brown/yellow hair jig.  Struck out here too so out came a Silver Buddy blade bait that's supposed to work so well.  I tried as many different retrieves with both the jig and Buddy that thought would catch something, but to no avail.  

 

I worked the whole perimeter (6-12'), the two humps I found last week, and a chunk of the middle where it's 18-20' deep and got DOUBLE SKUNKED.

 

Water temps were 44.x upon arrival and 43.x at 5:30 when I left.

 

Today seemed to be one of those weather days that kept fish quiet no matter what was thrown at them.

 

 

A for effort Mike.  I always recall having a few days in a row like that and went to this old timer I knew to ask if maybe he could give me some advice.   Upon telling him my frustrations and him listening, he looked at me, hesitated a few seconds and reply'd....just keep fishin.

[DogBone_384]

I'm just tossing my double skunk to cold water temps and a front moving out and a big swing in temperature in such a short time.  

 

I don't mind driving a lot for good fishing ... besides, my Tundra gets great mileage.

[DogBone_384]

On 3/6/2017 at 8:48 PM, Deeare said:

I'll probably meet Muskie an hour before sunrise. and do some bait fishing. Then head out to the causeway area and toss kastmasters.   Got a pin rainbow last year on a jerkbait

Only shore fishing at the Wachusett res.   Ive only been out to the quabbin once.   It's a 2 hour drive for me.   If I knew someone with a boat I'd do it much more.  

Rent a boat at the Quabbin.  

 

It's cheap: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/water-res-protection/watershed-mgmt/quabbin-reservoir-fishing-guide.html#2013BoatRentalInformation

[CavScoutA21]

15 hours ago, Cyacnba said:

Stopped by the Charles River today and caught over 10 bass. All of them were fat and healthy. They were going for the chatterbait at first, but then, the jig was the bait to use. I caught 2 on a jerkbait too.

Nice.  The only thing I have been catching this year are colds!  

 

 

[Fishing Rhino]

5 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

Rent a boat at the Quabbin.  

 

It's cheap: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/water-res-protection/watershed-mgmt/quabbin-reservoir-fishing-guide.html#2013BoatRentalInformation

 

It is very cheap, especially if you have your own trolling motor, or you want to row.  Fourteen bucks per day.  Seven bucks per day if you have celebrated your 70th birthday.

 

Or get an old geezer to go with you and let him rent the boat with motor, 23 dollars per day including parking.

[Deeare]

11 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

Rent a boat at the Quabbin.  

 

It's cheap: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/water-res-protection/watershed-mgmt/quabbin-reservoir-fishing-guide.html#2013BoatRentalInformation

Dogbone.   I did it once and would love too again.   its just too far for me.   2.5 hour ride.     Wachusett is under an hour and the place is great.   maybe I can go with Mike and I'll take him tuna fishing in return.   

[Mr. Aquarium]

yes please!!   ill trade ya!!! 

[MassYak85]

Any of you guys have experience with the affect of fronts when it gets this cold? I'm looking at Monday and it will be a few days into the cold front so maybe the fish will have adjusted, and it will be right before the Noreaster comes in Tuesday. Plus daytime temps are supposed to get into the mid/upper thirties so hopefully line wouldn't freeze. Of course this is assuming I can even find open water after the bitter cold this weekend. I'm getting a little desperate though. 

[MassYak85]

Well the dam side of A1 is almost all open. There's a little ice to the left of the ramp but theoretically I think it would be possible to launch tomorrow. I might at least try from shore for a little bit in the afternoon, and if I'm feeling adventurous might see if it's possible to launch my kayak. That's gonna be a big if though.